A long rage goal of New Mexico State University (NMSU) is to expand research and increase the opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students t pursue careers in health science fields. The proposed program has as its objectives: (i) to increase the number of ethnic minority undergraduates at tis institution who major in biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics with interests in biomedical research; (ii) to encourage, recruit,, and retain undergraduates in these disciplines by engaging them as participants in active on-going research progras; (iii) to increase the number of ethnic minority graduate students in these areas so as to contribute to a larger pool of research investigators with Ph.D. degrees and expertise in biomedical research. To accomplish these goals it is proposed that twenty yndergraduates and seven graduate students be recruited to work in apprenticeship positions as prt of nine active, on-going graduate research projects in the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Entomology. After a limited period of training to acquire basic laboratory skills, students will be permitted to select individual research projects for their indepedent investigation. Students may select research projects from areas including: functions of avian respiratory systems; cyclic o AMP metabolism in bacteria; the role of proteases in bacteria sporulation; morphogenesis in fungi; the chemistry and biochemistry of microbal lipids; reproductive biochemistry and embryogenesis, development of chromatographic supports for resolution of racemic mixtures and fo enzyme affinity chromatography; function, structure, and regulation of yeast phyruvate dehydrogenase; mathematical modeling of biostchastic processes; and the mediation of nuclear nonhistone acidic protein phosphorylation by polyamines in slime mold. Undergraduate appointments will generally extend to two years. Graduate appointments will be for four years. The major criteria for success of the program will be the number of undergraduate appointees who subsequently pursue graduate degrees at this or other institutions after their tenure at NMSU, and by the number of graduate students who successfully complete graduate degrees at NMSU.